


Rebound

by starlightwalking



Category: The 12:37 (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Past Nyx/Val, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: The last thing Val needs right now is a rebound.





	Rebound

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I didn't quite inaugurate this fandom's AO3 page, but hey have a fic anyway!  
> Writing for in-progress works is always...weird. There's so much we don't know about Val, I'm afraid of mischaracterizing because of something we'll find out in the future, but here goes nothing. She's definitely my favorite character so far, but I do love all of them :)  
> Set between episodes 1 and 2, focuses mostly on Val.

"Are you sure you got the right one?" Val whispered, gripping Wheeler with her metal arm.

"Absolutely positive," Wheeler assured. "Really, Val, after all this time and effort spent locating her and—"

"Alright, alright, I believe you!" Val let go and rolled her eyes. "I just—didn't expect her to be so..."

"Give her a chance," he said. "She's going to be disoriented and helpless for awhile—don't you remember how _you_ felt when you first got involved in this mess? She'll be feeling _far_ worse, considering she wasn't even raised in an era where time travel is a possibility."

Val bit her lip. "That isn't what I meant."

"Then what _did_ you mean?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "Nevermind." She turned to go, walking further down the train, but Wheeler grabbed her before she could go too far.

"No, tell me," he insisted. "If you've got misgivings, I need to hear them. I trust your instincts, Val."

Val sighed in exasperation. "No, it _really_ doesn't matter..." But she knew that look in Wheeler's eyes—he wouldn't let her go until she told him what was on her mind.

"I just didn't think she'd be so _cute_ ," Val admitted. " _Just_ my type, too—I thought you were picking her just to tease me."

Wheeler laughed, releasing his grip to pat her heartily on the back. "You had me worried there, Val!" he exclaimed. "No, just a coincidence, my dear. Besides, she doesn't look anything like Ny—"

" _Don't_ ," Val warned.

Wheeler lifted his hands in the air. "Sorry!" he said. "But wasn't she...?"

Val shook her head and walked away, troubled. It was true that this new girl, Nora, didn't much resemble Nyx—at least, not the villain Nyx had become. But Val had caught her eye ever so briefly, and it was that look so full of determination...

But who knew what Nora was _actually_ like, Val thought bitterly. She'd been mistaken with Nyx, and so many boys and girls and queers before her—

The last thing Val needed right now was a rebound. Getting over Nyx was damn near impossible, not when they were working against Beyond Pharmaceuticals in such an... _intimate_ manner. She'd tried that tactic already, anyway, when her breakup with one of Wheeler's goons had been so messy she'd requested significant time away from the train.

That resulted in a month away from the train and a string of hookups that only hurt her more each time. She ended up meeting and dating a sweet artist boy from the end of the 20th century, popping in to visit whenever the train stopped. But, as Wheeler warned her _every_ goddamn time she tried to have a personal life outside of the job, relationships out of the time stream were difficult. For her new boyfriend, it was impossible—she dropped in one day with chocolates from the future only to find out he'd gotten _married_ in the three years (on his end) since she'd visited. For her, it had been less than a week.

So much for a fucking rebound.

And all that was _before_ Nyx. No, Val would be staying single for the foreseeable future, thank you very much. At least until she could get over her own damn self. Besides, it was too dangerous to be distracted on the job, especially when the job was as important as _this_ one.

No matter _how_ cute Nora was.

 _Especially_ when Nora was that cute. Val already had mixed feelings about duping a stranger from the past into a joining a morally dubious fight in a conflict rife with biological warfare—she didn't need to get _romantic_ feelings tangled up in this mess, too. They had to test Nora before they knew if they could trust her, and if Val got too close she might get so guilty she'd blow the whole plan.

 _Incompetent_ , sneered the voice in her head that sounded too much like Nyx. Val ignored it.

She'd just have to avoid Nora as much as possible. This had all been Wheeler's idea; let it be his problem. She was pretty sure Nora hadn't seen her when Val had caught her eye earlier that day—at least, she wouldn't know who Val was if she had. Maybe, if she played her cards right, she'd never know.

But that _look_ in Nora's eyes...it kept coming back to haunt Val. It was confusion, hurt, loss, fear, but also determination, exasperation, hope. A wavering confidence Val knew Wheeler would pry out of her.

It reminded Val of Nyx. Nyx _before_...everything. While Nora and Nyx were quite different physically, as Wheeler had attempted to point out, Val knew her type. It was the kind of person with something to prove, something to fuel a fire within them, something that shone through the grit the world covered them up with. Val hopelessly for those fools and artists and heroes-in-the-making. Only, sometimes they didn't _make_ it.

What was that old saying? "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain?" Yeah. Val didn't think she'd ever fit into the "hero" mold to begin with. She knew her strengths, knew her limits, and wouldn't push them. Sure, her strengths and limits were more remarkable than most, but she wouldn't recklessly endanger herself.

Wheeler might sometimes disagree, but she could make her own choices. She was a goddamn adult now. She had been for—well, time didn't matter much on the train, but it had been a while.

Maybe that was why she was so drawn to people like Nyx, and that idealistic idiot Wheeler had employed who get themself killed too young, and the artist with big dreams who left her behind. They would do what it took. Val would, too, but they'd do it regardless of their abilities, and they'd pay the price one way or another.

Val rubbed her metal arm. Well. She'd learned to measure ability in a different way—a way Nyx had taught her—and she'd certainly paid the fucking price. Her arm hadn't been the only thing she'd lost in their last confrontation. Maybe she was more of the hero type than she wanted to admit.

If anything, that proved even more that she couldn't afford to get involved with anyone new. Not with Nyx so fresh on her mind, her heart so desperate for connection that she'd hurt anyone involved when the rebound snapped back around.

So she'd stay away from Nora, she decided. _Well_ away. It would be bad for both of them to get tangled up in anything, if Nora even wanted something like that... And besides, no one could compare to Nyx.

Not even Nora.

**Author's Note:**

> ding dong you are wrong, Val!! :P
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting!  
> You can find me on tumblr at [@arofili](http://arofili.tumblr.com). (At time of posting my url is actually @aroziraphale but that's temporary, lol, and I've got a redirect page up.)


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